Exodus 1-3
God Remembers,
Pharaoh Doesn't
0 MIN READ
Psalm 10:1-7 The Self-Talk of a Sinner
The Perils of the Pilgrim
1 Why, O LORD, do you stand far away?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
2 In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor;
let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised. 3 For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul,
and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the LORD. 4 In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him;
all his thoughts are, “There is no God.”
5 His ways prosper at all times;
your judgments are on high, out of his sight;
as for all his foes, he puffs at them. 6 He says in his heart, “I shall not be moved;
throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity.” 7 His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression;
under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.
Application
Keep God and His Word in your thoughts, and you won't think incorrectly and pridefully.
Prayer
All-Seeing God, keep me from the presumptuous arrogance of thinking I don't need You, and that You won't do what You promised. Amen.
Proverbs 3:13-16 A Long, Rich, and Honorable Life
Blessed is He who Finds Wisdom
13 Blessed is the one who finds wisdom,
and the one who gets understanding, 14 for the gain from her is better than gain from silver
and her profit better than gold. 15 She is more precious than jewels,
and nothing you desire can compare with her. 16 Long life is in her right hand;
in her left hand are riches and honor.
Application
The person who fears God and follows His ways every day, will enjoy life all of his/her days, and be honored at the end.
Prayer
God, thanks that in Your word, You tell me both what constitutes the good life, and how to go about getting it; may I desire Your wisdom more than temporal trinkets. Amen.
Exodus 1-3 God Remembers, Pharaoh Doesn't
The book is about the Exit from Egypt, but is not just about saving the Hebrews or fulfilling His promises. It starts with the Israelites groaning in Egypt and ends with God's glory dwelling in the midst of His people on the way to the Promised Land. Genesis described the physical creation of the nation. In Exodus we'll be observing how God creates the spirituality of a people with whom He can have an intimate relationship. {Hint: Holiness probably has something to do with it.}
Exodus 1 Forgetful Pharaoh And God-Fearing Midwives
The Israelites Multiply in Egypt
1 These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob, each with his household: 2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, 3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, 4 Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. 5 All the descendants of Jacob were seventy persons; Joseph was already in Egypt. 6 Then Joseph died, and all his brothers and all that generation. 7 But the people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them.Oppression by a New Pharaoh
8 Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. 9 And he said to his people, “Behold, the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. 10 Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.” 11 Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with heavy burdens. They built for Pharaoh store cities, Pithom and Raamses. 12 But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And the Egyptians were in dread of the people of Israel. 13 So they ruthlessly made the people of Israel work as slaves 14 and made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of work in the field. In all their work they ruthlessly made them work as slaves.Pharoah Orders Male Children Killed
15 Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, 16 “When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live.” 17 But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live. 18 So the king of Egypt called the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this, and let the male children live?” 19 The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.” 20 So God dealt well with the midwives. And the people multiplied and grew very strong. 21 And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families. 22 Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, “Every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live.”Exodus 2 Mighty Moses Makes a Mistake
The Birth of Moses
1 Now a man from the house of Levi went and took as his wife a Levite woman. 2 The woman conceived and bore a son, and when she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months. 3 When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the river bank. 4 And his sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him.Pharaoh's Daughter Rescues Moses
5 Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her young women walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her servant woman, and she took it. 6 When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby was crying. She took pity on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews' children.” 7 Then his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, “Shall I go and call you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” 8 And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, “Go.” So the girl went and called the child's mother. 9 And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. 10 When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, “Because,” she said, “I drew him out of the water.”Moses Kills an Egyptian
11 One day, when Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and looked on their burdens, and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his people. 12 He looked this way and that, and seeing no one, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. 13 When he went out the next day, behold, two Hebrews were struggling together. And he said to the man in the wrong, “Why do you strike your companion?” 14 He answered, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid, and thought, “Surely the thing is known.”Moses Flees to Midian
15 When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and stayed in the land of Midian. And he sat down by a well. 16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came and drew water and filled the troughs to water their father's flock. 17 The shepherds came and drove them away, but Moses stood up and saved them, and watered their flock. 18 When they came home to their father Reuel, he said, “How is it that you have come home so soon today?” 19 They said, “An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds and even drew water for us and watered the flock.” 20 He said to his daughters, “Then where is he? Why have you left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread.” 21 And Moses was content to dwell with the man, and he gave Moses his daughter Zipporah. 22 She gave birth to a son, and he called his name Gershom, for he said, “I have been a sojourner in a foreign land.”God Hears the Israelites' Cry
23 During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. 24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.Application
Moses missed the will of God in round 1. Don't make the same mistake. Check out this Will of God outline if you haven't already done so (and see the other outlines in Digging Deeper below). You might save 40 years.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, I praise You for being the God who knows and cares. I know You see and care about my circumstances. Help me trust You to do what's best when it's best. Amen.
Exodus 3 Identity Issues
Moses at the Burning Bush
1 Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. 3 And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” 4 When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6 And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. 7 Then the LORD said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, 8 and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9 And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” 11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” 12 He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.” 13 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” 15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations. 16 Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt, 17 and I promise that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.”’ 18 And they will listen to your voice, and you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us; and now, please let us go a three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.’ 19 But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand. 20 So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it; after that he will let you go. 21 And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and when you go, you shall not go empty, 22 but each woman shall ask of her neighbor, and any woman who lives in her house, for silver and gold jewelry, and for clothing. You shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians.”Application
The question is not “Who am I?” but “Who is my God?” By the way, Who is your God? In whom or what do you trust?
Prayer
O Eternal “I AM,” You were, are, and always will be trustworthy. I trust You to give me what I need to do Your will. Amen.
Digging Deeper
Some folks educated beyond their intelligence date the Exodus at 1200 BC, assert that there is no evidence of the Jews being in Egypt at that time, and conclude that Exodus and the history of the Jews is a fable. Amazing! The Book that changed the world, started Western Civilization, demystified the universe, brought in the Scientific Revolution, championed property rights, human rights, women's rights, social justice, resulted in the abolition of slavery, and done incomparably more to improve the human condition, is a work of fiction???
There are two approaches to Egyptian chronology. The early flawed theory assumes that one Pharaoh takes up rule when his predecessor dies. The correct archaeologically authenticated theory (Truth is that which best explains all the facts.) recognizes the overlap of reigns. In other words, co-regents. The new guy started before the old guy died. Stones don't lie.
When you adjust the chronology for the 300 years worth of overlaps, you have a date for the Exodus which corresponds to the Jewish history, 1450 or so. Imagine that! One secular researcher sardonically observed that the the old method of dating won't die out until the current regents of archeology die. (Their doctoral dissertations, and thus worth, value and professorships are tied to the old disproven chronology.)
There is plenty of evidence that the Jews were in in Egypt around 1450 BC: double the statistical average of infants in cemeteries, infants buried under houses, 50% of a listing of slaves have Semite or Biblical names with the Egyptian equivalent after it, a general named Mousos/Moses, and the take-over of Egypt (recorded by an Egyptian historian) by invaders who win without having to strike a blow. Where was the mighty Egyptian army? Stay tuned...
http://ensignmessage.com/articles/in-search-of-pharaohs-lost-army/
https://answersingenesis.org/bible-characters/moses/searching-for-moses/
God in a nutshell: God is aware of our needs before we even call out to Him, and has a perfect plan to care for us; He lets us reap the consequences of our actions that are in accord with His plan; He uses pain to get our attention when we are hard of hearing; He can protect us from our enemies while using our enemies to benefit us (see David and Saul); He's always existing.
Us in a nutshell: We can lose sight of God if we don't keep focused and remind ourselves of why we're on this planet; when we call He responds but not always on our timetable; it's better to potentially suffer for doing what's right rather than what's wrong; we might be surprised by blessing (midwives).
Where to go for more
Will of God in TOYL and Will of God Part 1 and Part 2 (the best one), all on Truthbase.net.(Note: reference to a site doesn't imply endorsement of everything you'll find there.)
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